Amocat223

Looking to get info on a vintage 'Olympic SR' 5 speed cruiser i just acquired , cant seem to find anything on the net without getting results for the Olympic games ..any leads are welcome as to who actually made the bike , i know for a fact its made in Poland and has a 5 speed transmission by Shimano including a real nice 'Eagle II' derailleur and has 26'' tires ..no sign of any brand on wheels or hub - in my opinion they must be equivalent to a Canadian brand CCM of some sort but who knows , you guys might be able to sort things out !

T-Mar

The moment that I saw this, I immediately thought of a Puch-Steyr product. The shape of the ends of the tube collars on the bulge formed head is reminiscent of their product. Similarly, the straight cut and crimping of the top end of the seat stays looks like their style. However, to the best of my knowledge they never had a Polish factory, so I'm assuming the manufacturer just copied the Puch-Steyr style, unless other members know different. Assuming the Eagle II is OEM, it is no older than a 1977 model.

Velo Mule

I am far from an expert on this, however, since there has been one one else to weigh in, I just say that the only Polish brand that I know is Tyler. Thant does not mean that it is a Tyler. Only something to look up if you haven't already.

Amocat223

Thanks , i will do a bit more research - i know its not a high end bike per say, just curious as to who sold these or made them - one thing i forgot to mention is that it has a 'Mertens made in Germany' saddle !

Hummer

I have seen several bicycles made in Poland like this. The serial number on the bicycles that I have seen is on the bottom of the head tube. The first two numbers are the year of frame manufacture. Universal and Tyler are the usual brand names. The manufacturer also contract built frames for department stores in Canada.

Lascauxcaveman 

Looks like good ol' Soviet era bike boom stuff. Little or no aluminum, indifferent cable routing, pretty nice chrome, big mattress saddle. The comparison to bike-boom era CCM seems pretty apt. Rideable for sure, but not exactly sporting.

Amocat223

Yes , this one also has ser # on bottom head tube , more than likely this bike was store bought back in its day, from what store, i have no idea !

Amocat223

I agree its not a sport bike by far but rides well .., i especially love the way the fenders are made , no center crest popping up just flat almost !

T-Mar

A little research indicates that the manufacturer is almost certainly Romet, Poland's largest bicycle manufacturer. Other Romet bicycles exhibit the same crimped stays and bulge formed head tube. What I couldn't determine was whether Olympic SR was a Romet owned brand or one contract manufactured for a client.

Romet was formed in 1948 as a state owned enterprise that amalgamated the Polish bicycle companies surviving World War II. Other products included mopeds and motorcycles, though sales were almost entirely domestic. Aggressive exporting started in the 1960s. By 1965, bicycle production was over 600,000 units with 35% being exports. Production continued to increase, with an average of over 1 million bicycles being produced annually from 1975-1980, though exports dropped off to 20%. Production fell off in the 1980s but things worsened in the 1990s, first with opening of the Polish market and then the reduction of import tariffs. In 1991 a production facility was sold to Arcus, who continued to acquire more Romet assets and eventually even the Romet brand, forming the Arcus & Romet Group circa 2006. This company continues to manufacture bicycles and mopeds to this day.

Romet was a known manufacturer of Universal bicycles. Universal was a generic brand established by the state owned trading company to market a wide variety of Polish products to foreign countries.

Amocat223

Quite right i would say ..as a matter of fact the grips are 'Romet' , as for the year the two first are 78 followed by 47 so its possibly a 1978 model .

Jimp1173

I have 3 different kinds of Tyler bikes all made in Poland. One 20" kids bike from the 70's which resembles a schwinn stingray... it has a german made coaster brake. A somewhat rare 20" folding bike and a 3 speed mens crusier bike from the late 70's. The 3 speed does look close to yours. And I have heard rumor that Romet and Tyler were the same company at one point. It's possible that they rebranded their bike for stores when exporting to other countries. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to get much information about the history of these bikes... what little I do know is that they were imported into the US from the 60s to the early 80s to a warehouse in boston ma. For distribution. I am actually in search of a Tyler 10 speed mens bike for my collection, any leads would be appreciated.

JumboBMX

nice bike